1995 850 Rear spring seat rubbing tire

other_shoe · Post by **other_shoe** » 16 Feb 2015, 18:56

Hi, all.

Hoping someone has some insight or guidance into a problem I'm encountering with my rear passenger side tire. When I last drove it the car made a horrible scraping sound from the get go. Instead of the rear brakes and rotors that I knew needed changing, it appears that the noise is the upper mount for the rear spring rubbing against the inner sidewall of the tire (promptly destroying the tire). With the rear of the car jacked up, the new tire is clearly hitting the mount and will not turn.

From looking at the car and various threads, I get the impression that there is a bit of variation in where the spring seat rests against the frame rail, so I might be able to re-seat it further forward and inboard. However, when jacked up, it looks like the problem is that the rotor and hub assembly hangs too low causing the tire to get caught on the spring seat instead of having the seat line up with the cavity of the wheel. Is is possible that it is hanging too low and if so what might cause this.

I know pics would be helpful, and I'll try to take some soon. But if anyone has thought in the meantime, I'd be very grateful to hear them.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 16 Feb 2015, 19:52

From what you describe it sounds like the bolt that holds the upper spring mount on the chassis is either broken or it fell out. You will need to remove the shock absorber and the spring to get to the bolt which is above the cap that holds the bump stop on.

That is a new one for me, I've never heard of it happening.

...Lee

other_shoe · Post by **other_shoe** » 16 Feb 2015, 21:07

Thanks, Lee.

I'm hoping to dig into it tomorrow or Wednesday, and then post a follow up.

other_shoe · Post by **other_shoe** » 20 Feb 2015, 18:54

Okay, I've been working on this off and on for the past several days, and here is what I have learned.

1. The upper spring mount appears to be in the right place or at least the same place as the mount on the other side by measurement (don't know why the eyeballs thought differently, but I certainly misunderstood how the assembly went together).

2. The shocks and springs likely need to be replaced, but they do not seem to be the direct cause of the problem.

3. The passenger side spring is rubbing against the trailing arm, i.e. it is at an odd/wrong angle going into the bottom seat. This was baffling to me because I could not (at the time) figure what type of failure could have caused all of this.

4. Using a jack under the bottom spring seat, I was able to get the wheel and tire on and spinning, and it became clear that the wheel and tire had not just been hitting the upper spring seat but also rubbing against the back of the wheel well/liner. The wheel appeared to be splayed out at the front and in at the back. And then ...

5. I had my "Ah ha" moment. In the layer of crud that was covering the car, there was a swath of relative clean on the driver's door where I had assumed that my leg had wiped off some salty grime while brushing snow off the car. Nope. The car was hit on the driver's side, leaving a fairly deep dent from the back of the door to the front at bumper height for a passenger car.

So, I'm guessing that something is bent or broken in the trailing arm assembly, possibly from the rear passenger rim striking the curb when the car was hit on the driver's side.

At this point, the car is going to a collision shop to repair the door. I'm hoping that the insurance adjuster agrees that the hit and run is also the cause of the sudden and seemingly simultaneous change in the geometry of the rear suspension.

I'm pretty mad about the car getting hit and left without a note. Still, I'm glad to have at least a working theory as to what is happening with the car.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 20 Feb 2015, 19:27

There are a couple of bushings in the trailing arms that tie them together. If one of those bushings broke it can cause the delta link trailing arm to actually pivot on the end link and change the toe in on the wheel. The car actually has passive rear steering and the bushings are supposed to flex when they are loaded but if the bushing breaks it "flexes" way too much.

The way things supposed to be are bolted together are shown here:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... s70-987341

If the trailing arm is bent then the only real option, other than junking it, is to replace the bent arm.

...Lee

other_shoe · Post by **other_shoe** » 20 Feb 2015, 22:16

Hopefully, it's a bushing or bushings rather than the arm or arms. Given the age and mileage (168K) on the car, I wouldn't be surprised to see them fail.

Thanks again for giving me so much guidance on this.

other_shoe · Post by **other_shoe** » 21 Feb 2015, 12:58

The passenger side delta link bushing (the one with the 3 bolts) is certainly broken with the cylindrical part shoved at least an inch past where should mate with the part with the vertical bolts.

I also looks to me like the passenger side arm is bent. I'm going to take some pictures once my phone charges.

other_shoe · Post by **other_shoe** » 21 Feb 2015, 14:40

Here are some not so great pictures. The arm sure looks bent to me.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 21 Feb 2015, 16:39

I can't really tell for sure from the pictures but my first reaction is that the arm is indeed bent. They are tapered so it can be an illusion.

I think they are fairly cheap at a junk yard since there isn't much demand for them. When you get done you will need a 4 wheel alignment to get the rear toe set but alignments cost so stinking much that I would want to at least have a reasonable chance that it will align properly before I even took it in.

...Lee

other_shoe · Post by **other_shoe** » 21 Feb 2015, 17:11

Thanks for your thoughts and expertise, Lee. The arm being bent makes sense given how far in the opposite bushing has been pushed.

The good news is that I was going to have to get an alignment anyway because back when I thought it was just a blown tire I decided it would be a good time to install the new strut kit and inner and outer tie rods I got last fall. Also, the car supposedly has a lifetime alignment from Firestone, but we'll see what that actually means when the time comes.

Best,

Philip